Kumari 21F - Movie Review

Friday, November 20, 2015 - 15:30
Kumari 21F
Cast & Crew: 

Movie: Kumari 21F
Cast: Raj Tharun, Hebbah Patel, Hema and others
Dialogues: Potluri Venki
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography: R Rathnavelu
Editor: Amar Reddy
Art: Ramachandra Singh
Story, Screenplay: Sukumar B
Presented by: Sukumar
Banner: Sukumar Writings
Producers: Vijaya Prasad Bandreddi and Thomas Reddy Aduri
Directed by: Surya Pratap
Release Date: November 20, 2015
CBFC Rating: A

What's about!

Police take Siddhu (Raj Tharun) into custody and put him in the jail. He starts narrating his story. Siddhu and his mother (Hema) lead a middleclass life in KBR colony. One day he runs into a girl Kumari (Hebbah), who is beating a guy who asks him to come for night thinking she was a prostitute. She asks Sidhu, does she look like a girl who comes for a cheap amount, does she not  deserve more amount. Such a daring girl Kumari is. He saw her twice before but this is the first time he spoke to her. He starts following her and later they go for a date and on the very first date she kisses him after getting drunk. Initially he starts loving her bold attitude, but due to his bad friends a doubt creeps in his mind about her character. She is a model and has her own philosophy towards life. When she realizes that he starts doubting her and her life, she says he has not enough maturity to understand or love her. He gets confused about her attitude. Later some events lead to a shocking climax.

Analysis

Director Sukumar has written the script for Kumari 21F but left the directorial responsibilities to Surya Pratap. Though he has not directed the movie, the director has also made this film in Sukumar's style. From Arya, Sukumar has been writing scripts that are quite different within commercial format. His love stories have always been far away from formula but this one is pretty bold story from him.

A coming-of-age story told with liberal dose of adult sequences and with an unusual climax.

The movie centers on a young boy floored by a bold model who is residing in his colony. Her behavior and attitude is culture shock to him. She on other hand is very mischievous but has good maturity. She leads her life independently with her grandfather but not much explanation is given why she develops so much love towards this guy other than the simple reason that it was love at first sight. The basic conflict - a boy wanting his girl to be 'fresh' and the girl not caring much about society rules is well-established albeit with adult content.

First half of the movie revolves about this girl-boy play. Many sequences in the first half are embarrassing. Second half gets into serious mode with a quite different climax. Although many scenes have gone overboard, the overall sequences are targeted towards youth audiences.

The film is told with catchy songs and beautiful cinematography aided by good performances from lead actors. But Kumari 21F has many flaws too. We are told that the heroine is a carefree girl but it is later revealed that she has a past that she is not proud of. When her past life is suggested as 'traumatic' in the second half, it is hard to believe that she can tease the boy in the beginning so freely given the experience she had in the past. Also the hero and his mother realizing their mistake about his father are told not convincingly.

It’s a good performance by Raj Tharun who has already proved that he is a good actor. Despite this, the show stealer is Hebbah Patel, who is bold, beautiful and has great acting skills. Hebbah mows down the others with her bold outlook and twinkling smile. Hema as Raj Tharun’s mother gives a neat performance. Others are okay.

Devi Sri Prasad’s music is very soothing and trendy. Rathnavelu’s amazing visuals have added beauty to the movie. Production values and artwork are perfect. Though the movie's runtime is reasonable, it seems lengthy due to uneven pace. A better pace should have been created by the editor. As writer, Sukumar is backbone to the movie. Director Surya Pratap's work is decent.

Bottom line: Kumari 21 F is a coming-of-age story told in bold manner with unusual climax. Has good music and cinematography too. Uneven pace and some flaws apart, it is far from the regular formula romantic dramas. 

Rating: 
3/5